KR101004536B1 - Rotary piston blower for supplying an air stream to a fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

An air intake device for a fuel cell is disclosed. The apparatus of the present invention comprises a housing having an inlet and an outlet, the housing including a cylinder in communication with the inlet and the outlet; A drive shaft installed inside the housing to be rotated by the drive source; A driven shaft installed inside the housing so as to be spaced apart from the driving shaft by a predetermined distance; A drive piston located in the cylinder and installed on the drive shaft to be rotatable; A driven piston installed in the driven shaft to be rotatable within the cylinder; And a power transmission belt installed on the drive shaft and the driven shaft so as to transmit the rotational force of the drive shaft to the driven shaft.

Fuel Cell, Air, Suction, Blower, Piston, Shaft

Description

Rotary piston blower for supplying an air stream to a fuel cell

The present invention relates to an air intake device for a fuel cell, and more particularly, to a fuel cell air intake device for supplying cooling air from the atmosphere to a fuel cell.

Fuel cells have a wide range of potential uses. They can be used to produce electricity for home, business and industrial use through fixed power plants. Fuel cells produce direct current (dc) that must be converted to alternating current for grid-connected applications or for use in most consumer products. However, future fuel cells may be operated in both modes related to power transmission systems and modes not related to power transmission systems. Small fuel cell power plants can be installed to generate both heat and power for residential use. They are used to power distant settlements where primary grid power does not come in, potentially eliminating the need for a grid.

In addition to large-scale power generation applications, fuel cells can replace batteries that power consumer electronics such as laptop computers, mobile phones, etc., and can be micro-machined to directly power computer chips. have. Another expected commercial use of fuel cells is the possibility of replacing internal combustion engines in vehicles and vehicles. Thus, the use of fuel cells is virtually limitless.

The fuel cell works in principle very much like a battery. However, unlike batteries, fuel cells do not have to reach the end of their life or recharge. Fuel cells continue to produce energy in the form of electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. In general, a fuel cell consists of two electrodes (anode and cathode) interposed between an electrolyte. For example, for a PEM fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen pass through the anode and cathode electrodes, respectively, to generate voltages between the electrodes, generate electricity and heat, and make water as the main byproduct. Hydrogen fuel is supplied to the anode of the fuel cell. Some consume hydrogen directly, while others use a fuel reformer to extract hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas, methanol, ethanol, or gasoline. Oxygen enters the fuel cell at the cathode. Oxygen can be supplied in purified form or directly from atmospheric air.

All of the known fuel cell configurations described above commonly require oxygen as an essential raw material for carrying out the chemical process of the cell. Other power sources, such as internal combustion engines, including diesel engines, also require oxygen. In most commercial applications, this oxygen is preferably supplied directly from the atmosphere. However, all atmospheres contain some pollutants. Such contaminants may be relatively large, such as loose debris, insects, tree blossoms, or the like, or may have the properties of small particles suspended in the atmosphere, such as dust, pollen, smog or soot particles. Chemical contaminants such as artificial or naturally occurring pollution can also be widely present in the atmosphere.

Typical chemical contaminants may include aromatic hydrocarbons, methanol, butane, propane and other hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds such as ammonia, nitrogen oxides, ozone, smog, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and the like. Such contaminants may appear intentionally or unintentionally (such as from a military background or by terrorists). Thus, fuel cells are particularly acute when used for mobile applications subject to numerous variable atmospheric conditions.

Since efficient fuel cell operation depends on elaborately balanced chemical reactions, contaminants in the air used by the cell can have serious adverse effects on the operation of the cell and, depending on its nature, the fuel cell may continue to operate. You may not be able to. Therefore, it is important to have a filtration system that is designed to remove harmful contaminants and allows the fuel cell to be used in a wide range of uses.

In order to obtain the amount of oxygen required for the fuel cell to produce the desired energy output, sending oxygen-containing air through a device such as a fan or compressor located within the air flow stream supplied to the fuel cell It has been found to be preferred. Unfortunately, typical compressors are undesirable because they generate a significant level of noise. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce and minimize noise by and / or through the compressor and to the surroundings. In addition, since it is generally desirable to reduce the system size, it is more desirable for the filtration and noise damping features of the system to be as physically reduced as possible and combined in a single member or housing.

The air suction device for a fuel cell according to the related art reflecting these points has been disclosed by US Pat. No. 6,284,397, US Patent Application Publication No. 20050014047, and the like. The air intake devices according to the prior art take a power transmission method leading to a motor, a drive shaft, a gear, a secondary shaft, and a piston, so power loss may occur. In addition, since the gear and the piston occupy respective spaces, it is difficult to miniaturize the device, and there is a problem in that noise and vibration are generated when the power of the gear is transmitted.

On the other hand, air intake devices for fuel cells according to the prior art are very likely to generate condensed water by changing the humidity inside the system when impurities enter the atmosphere, in particular, when water vapor is introduced into the fuel cell system. There was a problem.

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above problems, the structure of the power transmission mechanism for transmitting power between a pair of shafts with a piston is changed, and impurities and / or moisture in the air in the passage through which the air flows It is an object of the present invention to provide an air intake device for a fuel cell equipped with a removable means.

In order to achieve the above object, an air intake apparatus for a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the housing having an inlet and an outlet, the cylinder including a cylinder in communication with the inlet and the outlet; A drive shaft installed inside the housing to be rotated by a drive source; A driven shaft installed inside the housing to be spaced apart from the driving shaft by a predetermined distance; A drive piston located in the cylinder and installed in the drive shaft to be rotatable; A driven piston installed in the driven shaft to be rotatable within the cylinder; And a power transmission belt installed on the drive shaft and the driven shaft so as to transmit the rotational force of the drive shaft to the driven shaft.

Preferably, the air suction device for a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes an impurity blocking member installed at an inlet.

Preferably, the air suction device for a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes a water removal member installed at the inlet to remove water from the air flowing into the inlet.

Preferably, the impurity blocking member is any one selected from a network filter, a prefilter, an intermediate filter, a HEPA filter, an Ulpa-filter, a carbon filter, a paper filter, a mesh chloride filter, a membrane filter, and a nonwoven fabric.

Preferably, the moisture removing member is formed integrally with the impurity blocking member.

Preferably, the fuel cell is a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

An air intake device for a fuel cell according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, unlike the air intake devices according to the prior art adopting the traditional gear system, the power is transmitted by the belt can solve the noise and vibration problems.

Second, the belt can reduce the effect of accurate power transmission compared to the gear, but the air flowing through the inlet is used for cooling after being stored inside the fuel cell, so the accurate air inflow is not necessary over time, so the reduction of the part It will be able to supplement sufficiently.

Third, although the air intake devices for fuel cells according to the prior art have not considered the quality of the incoming air and the water content, according to the present invention, in the fuel cell in which the humidity of the air acts as an important variable, the moisture of the incoming air Can be controlled appropriately, resulting in a more improved effect.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the following detailed description, which will be more clearly understood by preferred embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the objects and advantages of the present invention should be understood by the structure, configuration, arrangement, arrangement, means, methods, and combinations thereof defined by the claims, but various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this is possible.

Hereinafter, an air intake device for a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an air intake device for a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the air intake apparatus 100 for a fuel cell according to the present exemplary embodiment may include a housing 10 having an inlet 12, an outlet 14, and a cylinder 16, and a housing 10. Drive pistons 22 and driven pistons 24 and drive pistons 22 and driven pistons 24 respectively installed in parallel with the drive shafts 22 and driven shafts 24, respectively. And a power transmission belt 40 connecting the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24.

The housing 10 has a first region 11 forming a cylinder 16 and a second region 13 on which the belt 40, the drive shaft 22 and the remaining portions of the driven shaft 24 are installed. do. The first region 11 is provided with an inlet 12 and an outlet 14, and the cylinder 16 of the first region 11 communicates with the inlet 12 and the outlet 14 and drives piston 32. And the driven piston 34 has a shape to be seated. The cylinder 16 is one end of the housing 10 and defines a first side wall facing one side of the two pistons 32, 34, and partitions the first and second regions 11 and 13. Two side walls opposite the other side of the two pistons 32, 34. The cylinder 16 preferably has an alternative shape of bore holes that overlap each other.

The drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24 are arranged such that the two pistons 32, 34 are rotated close to each other and to the inner wall of the cylinder 16 but not in contact with any of them. do. That is, the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24 are substantially synchronized such that the two pistons 32, 34 are rotated at the same speed by the belt 40. One end of the drive shaft 22 protrudes out of the first region 11 to be connected to the rotation shaft 3 of the drive source 1 such as a motor. In addition, the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24 are supported to be rotated by bearings 19 respectively provided on the second side wall 15 and the third side wall 17. The bearings 19 installed on the second side wall 15 preferably use sealing bearings for the airtightness inside the cylinder 16.

Referring to FIG. 2, which is a sectional view along the line II-II ′ of FIG. 1, the drive piston 32 and the driven piston 34 have at least two rounded protrusions whose lengths correspond to the length of the cylinder 16. Each main body is provided. The contour of the two pistons 32, 34 with rounded protrusions is such that the contour of the rotating drive piston 32 is approximately close to the contour of the rotating driven piston 34. Accordingly, when the driving piston 32 and the driven piston 34 are rotated by the rotation of the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24 by the belt 40, the pressure inside the cylinder 16 is reduced by such rotational force. Instantaneously decreased, and ultimately air in the air flows from the inlet 12 side through the outlet 14.

The belt 40 connects the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24, and transmits the rotational force of the drive shaft 22 rotated by the drive source 1 to the driven shaft 24, thereby driving the drive shaft. It has a function of synchronizing the rotation of the drive piston 32 by the 22 with the rotation of the driven piston 34 by the driven shaft 24. Accordingly, the belt 40 prevents the two pistons 32 and 34 from contacting by causing both the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24 to rotate at the same speed. In addition, the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24 is preferably provided with a separate pulley (see drawing) or mounting groove (not shown) in which the belt 40 can be installed. The belt 40 is preferably designed to specifically reduce noise and vibration in the transmission of power between the drive shaft 22 and the driven shaft 24.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the air suction device 100 for a fuel cell according to the present embodiment includes an impurity blocking member 50 and a water removing member installed at an inlet 12 side of the first region 11 of the housing 10. (60) is further provided. The impurity blocking member 50 and the moisture removing member 60 may be integrally provided and installed at the inlet 12.

The impurity blocking member 50 is to block impurities such as dust in the air flowing through the inlet 12, and a mesh filter, a prefilter, an intermediate filter, a HEPA filter, an Ulpa filter, a carbon filter of a predetermined mesh, A paper filter, a mesh chloride filter, a membrane filter, a nonwoven fabric, etc. can be used in combination.

The moisture removing member 60 is to remove moisture in the air flowing through the inlet 12, it is preferable to use a conventional absorbent, dehumidifying agent and the like.

Referring to the operation of the air suction device for a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention as described above are as follows.

1 and 2, the drive shaft 22 is rotated by the drive source 1 to rotate the drive piston 32. In addition, the rotational force of the drive shaft 22 is transmitted to the driven shaft 24 through the belt 40, and when the driven shaft 24 rotates, the driven piston 34 installed thereon rotates. Since the drive piston 32 and the driven piston 34 rotate at the same speed at different angles inside the cylinder 16 of the housing 10, this rotational force of the pistons 32, 34 is internal to the cylinder 16. It will reduce the pressure of instantaneously. Thus, air entering through the inlet 12 of the cylinder 16 can flow toward the outlet 14. The drive piston 32 and the driven piston 34 have an outer shape in which air on the inlet 12 side is substantially sealed off from air on the outlet 14 side. However, since there is a small gap between the two pistons 32 and 34 and between each piston 32 and 34 and the inner wall of the cylinder 16 because the respective parts are not in contact with each other, the inlet 12 The air on the side and the air on the outlet 14 are never sealed. In other words, this arrangement of the pistons 32 and 34 requires no lubricating oil in the suction device 100 due to the non-contacting state of the components and consequently the oil component can be removed from the sucked air.

On the other hand, since the impurity blocking member 50 and the water removing member 60 are provided at the inlet 12, impurities and moisture in the air are supplied into the cylinder 16 after being filtered or removed by these members, Such purified and pure air can be supplied to a fuel cell (not shown).

The following drawings attached to this specification are merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description of the present invention to serve to more clearly understand the technical spirit of the present invention, the present invention It should not be interpreted to be limited to the content described in such drawings.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an air intake device for a fuel cell according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II ′ of FIG. 1.

Claims (6)

A housing having an inlet and an outlet, said housing including a cylinder in communication with said inlet and outlet; A drive shaft installed inside the housing to be rotated by a drive source; A driven shaft installed inside the housing to be spaced apart from the drive shaft; A drive piston located in the cylinder and installed in the drive shaft to be rotatable; A driven piston installed in the driven shaft to be rotatable within the cylinder; And And a power transmission belt provided on the drive shaft and the driven shaft so as to transmit the rotational force of the drive shaft to the driven shaft. The method of claim 1, And an impurity blocking member provided at the inlet to block impurities in the atmosphere and to introduce air into the cylinder. The method of claim 2, And a water removal member installed at the inlet to remove water from the air flowing into the inlet. The method of claim 3, And the moisture removing member is formed integrally with the impurity blocking member. The method of claim 2, The impurity blocking member may be any one selected from a network filter, a prefilter, an intermediate filter, a HEPA filter, an Ulpa filter, a carbon filter, a paper filter, a mesh chloride filter, a membrane filter, and a nonwoven fabric. Device. The method of claim 1, And the fuel cell is a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell.

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